The New Ben Hogan Equipment Company

This posting includes one of several special treats I received from the Ben Hogan Equipment Company.  The fantastic group of professional equipment people at Terry Koehler's company have come together to produce the new 2015 Ben Hogan Irons.  The video provides some insight into the company and the clubs themselves.

You can get the new Hogan irons from Juan Gomez of Prestige Golf at the Mel Reese Golf Course in Miami.  He has a terrific reputation in the club fitting business and works with professional golfers from just about all the professional tours.  You can demo the clubs there and have them customized and fit at his shop.

Enjoy!

Ben Hogan Golf Equipment Demo Day Today

Today at Melreese country club in Miami Florida I am hitting some of the new Ben Hogan irons.  Quite an experience and having a great time.  Wonderful forged clubs for the better player.

As promised here is another installment of 'On This Day in Hogan History':

by Mark Baron and Tom McCarthy

On August 8, 1955, Life Magazine released their interview with Ben Hogan with his that now he was semi-retired and would finally reveal his secret he discovered in 1946.  Several times after 1946 he would only admit that he had a “secret” and a number of professional golfers speculated about it in the April 5, 1954 Life Magazine, which only piqued the interest of golfers everywhere.

Life Magazine paid Hogan $25,000, a huge amount in that day, for this article, but many people believed Hogan did not reveal all that he knew in the article.  From time to time over the next several decades, he stated there was more to the “secret” than he had previously disclosed.  He reportedly offered to reveal his actual “secret” in a new article for a fee of $100,000.  No magazine wanted to pay that kind of money in those days and the deal was never finalized. 

Some believe that the actual “secret” went with him to the grave, but others claimed that he told them what it was and he made them promise not to tell.  One such person shagged balls for Hogan at his country club, Jody Vasquez.  In his book "Afternoons with Mr. Hogan" Vazquez provided some additional specific keys that Mr. Hogan gave him.  However, some believe, including Dan Jenkins the great golf writer and long-time Hogan fan, that his “secret” was simply to dig it out of the dirt through many hours of practice.

Pictured is the cover of Life Magazine from August 8, 1955 of Ben Hogan showing one of the secrets he more fully describes in the article.

See our next blog for more about 'Ben Hogan's Secret'!

Ben Hogan History - August 6: Hogan's Hole In One!

On This Day in Hogan History:

by Mark Baron with Tom McCarthy

On August 6, 1947 Ben made a hole in one at the 161-yard fourth hole during the final round of the Esmeralda Open played at the Indian Canyon Golf Course in Spokane Washington. The ball hit on the edge of the green and curled long across the green to drop in the hole. It was his second hole-in-one in his professional career, the first coming in 1934 at the 10^th hole in the Texas Open, held at Brackenridge Park Golf Course.  It is an unsubstantiated rumor that Ben had five hole-in-ones in his lifetime, (ie playing in practice rounds or in tournaments).  He ended up shooting a 68 to finish T-2 along with Johnny Palmer, Ed Furgol and Ellsworth Vines, taking home $1,066.66, one stroke behind the winner Herman Keiser.  Ben missed a putt for par from less than 2 feet on the final hole that would have tied Keiser and forced a playoff.   Hogan, who was battling the flu, praised Keiser as “the world’s greatest putter even though he does not like to be called it.”  

The Cow Pasture Tournament in Dublin Texas benefits The Ben Hogan Museum

http://www.yourstephenvilletx.com/sports/rec/cow-pasture-golf-classic-grows-to-two-days/article_d0804b6f-d1d3-5171-9bdd-ad978647937c.html

Spring and summer are here so golf is on the front burner for many more folks around the country.  Attached is a link to an article about the annual tournament in Dublin Texas that benefits The Ben Hogan Museum located there.  Quite a few new exhibits and activities this year.  While you are there you can visit the Dr. Pepper factory as a side trip.  Play golf in some extreme conditions and have a whole lot of fun.  The Ben Hogan Foundation staff will be there to answer questions about their projects and The First Tee Program they support in Ft. Worth.

Dress up for the occasion in cool clothing as it Texas hot that time of year.  Consider some knickers a broad brim hat or visor and wear some of the new Ben Hogan Apparel now available on the market.  The new line of performance wear is just now rolling out to market.  Play with some Ben Hogan golf clubs and leave your more modern clubs at home.  The golf experience at Mr. Hogan's early course should be very rewarding.

Ben Hogan Fundamentals to Help the Next 10 Ryder Cup Teams from USA

This new post includes rare 8mm film footage of Ben Hogan hitting a driver.  The film was shot at the Augusta National Golf Club, site of the Masters Tournament.  Mr. Hogan's swing is spot lighted from the hips down to show is core and legwork, a key fundamental action of his unique golf swing that garners praise for the past 70 years and will on into the future.  Only the finest players on the PGA Tour and other professional tours from around the world have shown a semblance of capturing this exquisite move.  It encompasses a studied setup position, a one piece takeaway, a loading of the right leg and hip, an extended lateral move, and a pulling through the downswing with the legs/hips/core/ to the end of the downswing.  It results in Hogan's classic whip action seen in his swing, especially in the late 1940's when he was a bit younger and did not have extensive body damage as a result of the accident.  The snapping action of his hips is followed all the way through to the end of his swing.  It ensures acceleration of the clubhead well past the ball and hitting area.  Mr. Hogan won 5 US Opens with this swing and its earlier versions.  He completed the Hogan Slam in 1953.

Study this video closely if you will.  It will help your understanding of what Hogan did.  If you are a younger player it will do you great benefits and who knows, maybe a spot on one of the next Ryder Cup Teams.  A good reference is the analysis by Jim McLean in 'The Complete Hogan, A Shot by Shot Analysis of Golf's Greatest Swing."  McLean does a good job explaining the swing action and the 'feel' of the action.  Mr. Hogan talks about this move in 'The Five Lessons, The Modern Fundamentals of Golf' as well.  In my teaching, I work with my students to capture this movement as best they can to improve their golf swings and shot making.

Ben Hogan Swing Revealed CD Software

I had posted this demo film clip to Facebook awhile back and it was well received.  It shows some of the features of the software CD showing different views for four swings by Ben Hogan showcasing his fundamentals.  The time frame includes 1948 as well as 1967.  The swings are a bit different as a result of the accident and aging but the grace and power of his fundamentally correct swing are all there.  The user can view each in a frame by frame mode with reverse ability, continuous loop on a selection, and a slow motion mode.  Otherwise, it automatically cycles through the sections after showing a repetition of five for each swing.  It is available on Amazon and titled 'The Swing Interactive Software - Ben Hogan (CD-ROM)' at a sale price of $6.95.  It installs easily in a couple of minutes on all Windows based computers (not Apple iOS) systems.

I turn this on and watch it regularly and I'll bet you will too.  Have fun with it!